Jews & Sports

Kosher
food at Wimbledon

As Novak
Djokovic of Belgrade (the 'hard-serving Serb') defeated former world champions
Roger Federer in the quarterfinals and Rafael Nadal in the finals at the
2011 Wimbledon Tennis Championships, while the Williams sisters were both
eliminated in the fourth round, Jewish tennis fans in attendance were
able to watch on a full stomach, thanks to the return of a pioneering
kosher food service.

It began
in 2008 in the driveway of Rabbi Dovid and Sora Cohen, directors of Chabad
of South London Campuses.

"When
we moved to London to work with students in South London, we didn't know
exactly where we were going to live," explains Rabbi Cohen, who co-directs
Chabad of South London Campuses. "When we found a house just 300
yards from Wimbledon's Centre Court, we knew that we had to do something
like this during the tournament."

It marked
the first time since its inception in 1889 that there was kosher food
at the world's oldest tennis championship, attended by half a million
people every year.

The
following year the operation moved to the Wimbledon Golf Club car park
by "The Queue" and has been there ever since. In their trailer,
excited consumers discovered a hot barbecue and cold sandwiches, as well
as the traditional strawberries and cream [non-dairy], all super-kosher,
every day of the two-week tournament (except Saturday, of course).

The
Cohen's also offered an open home Friday night/Shabbat dinner on 24th
June 24, and a special Shabbat program July 1-2 for the finals weekend.

The
food items at the kosher stand cost only a competitive £2.50 a piece.
"We're not here to make a profit we just want to provide a kosher
service," the rabbi said. He added that non-Jews were also enjoying
the snacks on offer. Then a smile broke over his face: "Don't forget,
we're also halal approved."

[Compiled
by Yerachmiel Tilles from different Chabad-Lubavitch websites, plus a
few snippets of quotes from articles in the Wimbledon Guardian (and a
photo) and the London Financial Times.]